The Gamer and the Journalist
by Leiya
Summary: At a boring meeting for the university's student newspaper Shuusei lerns he will have to go to a gaming convention. The only bright aspect about it is that he will meet his best friend from childhood there, a quite famous gamer.


Shuusei looked at his cell phone and typed something into a chat window. Perhaps he would get an answer some time in the near future. Preferably before he fell asleep.

-God, this meeting is so boring. Are you online or still at university? - He looked at the phone's clock: half past nine in the morning, so it was half past four in the afternoon the previous day where his chat partner lived. And thank god the little lamp in the top left corner of his phone announced an answer after a few minutes.

-Just booted my PC. Had to stay longer because of a test tomorrow {-}-

Shuusei inwardly shook his head. He could almost see how his chat partner disliked spending more time than necessary at his university than necessary.

-Do you feel prepared?-

-*shrugs* It will be enough to pass. What's the meeting about?-

Shuusei decided to ignore the other's lack of interest in his studies. They had discussed it often enough and he didn't want another discussion right about this topic right now. They had argued about it much too often and he would not provoke another one.

-The upcoming issue of our student's newspaper. They think about sending someone to the big game convention next weekend and write about it.-

-Cool! Will you go?-

-Me? Hotsuma, you are aware that I only know the difference between a PC and a console because I work with a PC but never on a console. I belong to a game convention as much as a plane to a boat exhibition.-

"Usui!"

"What?" He looked up just as his phone announced the other's reply as he heard his name.

The young woman who led the university's newspaper's redaction, Suzuki Hiromi by name, wore a stern expression. "Stop playing on your phone and pay attention. You will go to the con as well and write an article as someone who doesn't know much about gaming."

"What?" Shusei repeated. Had he heard it correctly?

"You brag about being a non gamer. So you will go there on Saturday and write about your experience. Here's your ticket." She handed him a piece of paper which was indeed a press-ticket for the con.

Shuusei sighed. "Really?" He had just told Hotsuma why he didn't mean to attend and now he had a ticket and a job to do. Great. He sighed.

"Do you have important plans on Saturday? Like grandma's 90th birthday? A wedding? Funeral?"

Shuusei shook his head.

"So it's settled. You will have a look around and write about it. It would be much more interesting than a gamer's report about it."

"I'll come with you, so you will not get lost in those many people," another girl said. She was called Wakabayashi and everyone knew she loved games.

Shuusei sighed. So he didn't have another choice but to go and write an article about an event he didn't care about. "Okay… I guess I don't have a choice, have I?"

Now he had to spend the rest of the meeting paying attention. Wakabayashi told him what he should pay attention to like cosplayers or the upcoming finals of an international championship of a famous game. Shuusei only knew the name because Hotsuma played it and was very good at it and also played in international competitions. If he would be there?

When he looked at his phone an hour later, he froze:

-I thought we could meet? I'll play there!-

That was… big news. They had been childhood friends but Hotsuma had moved to Los Angeles twelve years ago. At least they had the internet to stay in contact for which Shuusei was very thankful. And if he could meet his old friend again it would be worth spending a whole day at a place which didn't interest him at all and was too full of people. They were still very close with each other and meeting again after so many years would be fantastic.

-I'm going to work there. Do you have time for an interview with a complete noob who is supposed to write about it from his view?"

Then he put his phone back into his pocket. He didn't expect a quick answer. Hotsuma was too dedicated to his games, so he would not have patiently waited for him to find the time to reply. But he supposed getting an interview with one of the best Warcraft players in the world who above that preferred to avoid publicity would make sure they could meet and he would totally surprise Suzuki. He liked that idea.

"Ahh Shuusei! I'm so looking forward to see you for real on Saturday!"

Shuusei grinned into his webcam. It was Wednesday and Hotsuma would have to depart for Japan tomorrow. "Have you already packed your things?" he asked. He had just returned from university and Hotsuma had had the whole evening to pack his things. Now it was half past eleven at night over there

"Naah, not yet. But I've started."

Shuusei sighed deeply. "Then finish it. I won't start watching the next episode unless you have finished packing."

"Really? I've waited sooo long for you to come home!"

"You could have used that time to get everything ready." Shuusei shook his head.

"I have everything ready. I just need to click on play." Hotsuma protested. "I have to leave after lunch so I have enough time to pack the rest tomorrow."

"And I know you well enough that you will oversleep and then forget half your things." Shuusei said while he opened the streaming service where the newest episode of Game of Thrones was already online so that they could watch it together. Shortly after the start of the first season Hotsuma had come to him and proposed to watch it together since Shuusei had once told him he had read the books. And now it had become a nice ritual between them to spend one evening the week together to watch something. Shuusei liked it. He was no big fan of mainstream TV series but he liked this one and it was something that could get Hotsuma away from his games so that they had a bit more time together. Time which they both seemed to value very much.

He had now found the newest episode but instead to telling Hotsuma he took a book from his desk and opened it.

"Do you have underwear?" he asked without looking up from his book. "Socks? Trousers? T-Shirts? Your gaming outfit? Sleepwear?"

"You sound like my mom!" Hotsuma protested.

"You would have forgotten you sleepwear then." Shuusei stated and when he looked at his monitor he found Hotsuma packing a bit more into his suitcase.

"Toothbrush?" he asked and Hotsuma got said article together with toothpaste and his hairbrush. "Anything else for your daily hygiene?"

"In here." Hotsuma grumbled and held a smaller bag up.

"Good. Shoes?"

"Already packed."

And so it went on until Shuusei was satisfied and Hotsuma really had anything he needed. They were disturbed once by one of Hotsuma's flatmates who wanted to know if it was okay for him to still take a bath at this hour but Hotsuma just nodded and sent him away. He would stay awake for more than an hour. By then the bathroom would be free again. Shuusei was already used to Hotsuma's two flatmates coming in once in a while and wanting something from him.

And then they could finally start to watch the next episode so Shuusei put his book away and turned his full attention to his old laptop. They clicked the play button at the same time and both had a small window of their video chat in the top corner of the monitor so that they could still watch each other and comfortably talk about what they saw.

Only once Hotsuma had to interrupt the episode to open another messenger Shuusei didn't know to tell one of his gaming buddies he didn't have time to play with them today because of quality time with his oldest friend. And somehow this made Shuusei feel warm. That he really was important enough to Hotsuma that he didn't rush over to his games because someone wanted to play with him.

The moment Shuusei saw the queue in front of the halls he wanted to turn around and go home again. But of course Wakabayashi didn't let him and he had to remind himself that he would meet Hotsuma after the tournament.

Despite their press tickets it took them almost an hour to get into the large halls. Almost every gaming company had an own stand where people could play the demo of an upcoming game. Besides that there was a cosplay area and of course the area where the tournaments would be held.

Shuusei first wanted to take a look at the cosplayers. He took notes and asked some a few questions about their hobby. They didn't have an allowance to take pictures here though so when Shuusei's curiosity – if you could call it like this – was satisfied they left for the main part of the event and took a look at different game developers. Everywhere were many people who wanted to have a look at the new games and try them out. At one company Wakabayashi said she desperately wanted to try a game so he was supposed to look around by himself for a while.

"Okay. But remember I have an interview when the Warcraft tournament ends." He reminded the girl.

"Oh right. But I want to watch it as well so we can meet there. You still haven't told me with whom."

Shuusei winked at her and kept quiet about it. "I think you have heard his name," was all he said.

Then he went off. He didn't want to wait with her until it was her turn to play the game. So he strolled through the halls and looked at what the smaller companies had to offer. At a barely crowded stand he even tried a game which looked quite interesting. It was a kind of Adventure puzzle game. He didn't despise it but since he didn't want to invest into a console and his laptop was quite old he doubted he would ever be able to purchase the game. He talked to the people at the stand and asked them questions and they quickly noticed he barely knew anything. But they were friendly and explained him everything to detail. When he looked on his watch afterwards he noticed time has rushed by and he left to look for the tournament place. And on the way he noticed a well-known figure: Asian features, blond hair, upright posture, clad in a black Warcraft shirt, black jeans, sunglasses and – his trademark, Shuusei never understood the purpose of that – a long, black, floating coat with an applied flame and the Japanese character for flame which identified him as the famous gamer "Firegod". A smile crept onto Shuusei's face and he cleft a way through the crowd to that person.

"Hey." He said when he fell in step next to that person, knowing he wouldn't like him to call him by his real name here.

"Shuusei!" The young man looked at him at first surprised then overjoyed and hugged him. "God, it's so good to see you again!"

Shuusei was a bit overwhelmed but then he returned the hug. It had been so long that they had met in person.

"How are you? Nervous?" Shuusei asked.

"A bit. But I'll rock it."

Shuusei laughed. "Of course you will. You're on your way there?"

"Yup. Care to join me?"

Shuusei nodded and they continued their way.

"And how are you?" Hotsuma asked.

"Overwhelmed. Too loud, too many impressions and way too many people. I guess I'll leave as soon as I have the interview done with you and cut the world off as soon as I'm home."

Hotsuma nodded. He knew Shuusei well enough and these events were nothing for his friend. "As long as you don't forget the interview."

"Never." Shuusei chuckled. "That's the only thing I'm looking forward to today."

Hotsuma laughed. "I'm curious what kinds of questions you have prepared."

"Don't expect too much. You know how much of a noob I am."

"But at least you know the meaning of the word 'noob'."

"Thanks to you."

Hotsuma grinned. But then they reached the tournament area. "So. I have to leave you here… Or wait… I think I can provide you a seat."

Shuusei hesitated shortly. "I wanted to meet with Wakabayashi-san here… I guess you can't wait."

Hotsuma shook his head. "But… look down there… the first row which is empty? These are the seats I mean. I'll reserve you two seats there."

"Usui!"

Shuusei turned around and Shuusei smiled. "I guess you can take us down by yourself. This is Wakabayashi-san. She's also in the newspaper club with me."

Hotsuma nodded at the young woman who seemed shocked. "Y-yo-yo-you're Firegod!" she stuttered.

"He's an old friend of mine and the one we're going to interview after the tournament." Shuusei introduced his friend without mentioning his real name.

"What? Your… friend?"

"We played together in the mud as kids." Hotsuma explained and bumped Shuusei's shoulder in a playful way.

"Come now, I don't have much time left or the tournament will be delayed or I'm disqualified for not showing up and I could need a bit of price money if I don't wanna starve." Hotsuma said and with a flattering coat he led the two down to the first row seats and after shortly talking to one of the officials Shuusei and Wakabayashi could sit down at two seats at the side of the row.

"You… I can't believe you know HIM! I am a big fan!" Wakabayashi whispered excitedly. "Why didn't you ever tell anyone you know him? You know he's famous!"

"Yes, but for me he is my closest childhood friend and that's what I'm seeing in him. I don't care about games so yes, I know what he's doing and everything I know about video games is the stuff he has told me, but that's not important to me. I don't care much about 'Firegod' but about the person behind this name. And we haven't met in more than a decade," Shuusei explained and shrugged. Really he didn't have to tell everyone, that one of his closest friends happened to be a bit famous.

"Wow… So that's how you got the interview in the first place. He's not known to giving many."

Shuusei nodded. He knew Hotsuma was very active at gaming but there wasn't much known about him.

They had to wait a while and then the tournament started. When Shuusei watched the people it seemed to be an exciting game. He didn't understand enough of games like this to understand the thrill of it. But he watched it until the end no matter how bored he felt. Sometimes he noticed his eyes wandering off to Hotsuma. His friend was a bit more interesting to watch. He was so focused on his game. He barely knew him being able to sit down quietly. Whenever they had skyped Hotsuma always needed something to occupy his hands with. But now he was sitting totally still while he played his game and was 100% focused, and by watching him he knew why Hotsuma was so invested in his hobby.

The tournament dragged out. It was quite late when it ended and Shuusei was glad when he could get up again and walk a few steps. Hotsuma had made it to the second place which also would provide him a nice price money so he wouldn't have to starve in the near future.

"You didn't fall asleep." Wakabayashi teased him. She was very excited.

"But I was close." Shuusei yawned and they went to the place Hotsuma had left them and where they wanted to meet him again. They had to wait another ten minutes until he showed up.

"So I'm done. Let's grab something to eat and then I'm ready to answer your questions." He said when they had both congratulated him.

And so it happened. Hotsuma had bought a very big portion of fries and some other fast food things with which he led the two to a more quiet room which had been used for a workshop in the morning and was now empty.

"Feel free to take some fries." Hotsuma offered and shoved two bottles of water over to them.

"Thank you!" Wakabayashi said and took her bottle.

Shuusei was not interested in eating much but he as well was thirsty.

Hotsuma took off his sunglasses and relaxed after he had shoved a burger into his mouth in record time.

"So, I guess I'm ready now for your questions." He grinned.

"There's a sesame seed between your teeth." Shuusei winked and watched while Hotsuma tried to get it away. Then he started the voice recorder of his phone and started the interview. He tried to keep a bit of distance so that it was kept professional but a few childhood memories slipped in nevertheless. And Wakabayashi also had a few questions she wanted to ask her idol.

Shuusei couldn't deny that this was really the best part of today. No matter how advanced today's communication devices got, nothing could replace meeting face to face and at one point Wakabayashi was completely out of the window for them. She just didn't have a place in the conversation of two old friends.

It took about two hours until a man looked inside the room. "The con is closing soon. And you're supposed to have dinner with the other gamers, Firegod."

Hotsuma nodded. So the interview had to end. Shuusei had a final question but then they had to leave.

"How long are you still in Japan?" Shuusei asked when the three of them got up.

"Until Wednesday. Are you free on Tuesday?"

Shuusei smiled. So Hotsuma had understood why he had asked and he nodded. "I am always free for you. We can meet at the usual place at 11 o'clock?" he asked and Hotsuma grinned.

"I'd love to."

He stretched out his hand to Wakabayashi and then he hugged Shuusei again who this time had expected it and returned it instantly. And when they distanced each other again he could feel Hotsumas lips brushing against his very softly. Shuusei smiled at him when he let go of him.

"See you on Tuesday." He said and left the room after Hotsuma.

"Has… have I seen it wrongly or has he really kissed you?" Wakabayashi asked in shock on their way out.

Shuusei looked at her and shrugged with a small sheepish smile on his lips. "Perhaps?" He had enjoyed that fleeting kiss very much but he didn't expect anything to drastically change between him and Hotsuma. He lived in Tokyo after all and his friend in Los Angeles. Something serious between them would be difficult to manage no matter how much he might like Hotsuma.

On Tuesday Shuusei had to attend to the usual meeting of the student's newspaper and delivered his article to Suzuki who looked over it.

"How did you manage to get this interview? I hope you didn't spend any money on it. I can't give it back!" she asked.

"He's a good friend of mine." Shuusei shrugged. "And he was happy to grant it to me so there was no money involved."

"Wow. I knew it would be good to send you there. This issue will sell great!" Suzuki grinned.

But after the meeting ended Shuusei left. He had a course but he had decided to skip it. He wanted to have as much time as possible with Hotsuma.

When he reached their old meeting point, a tree in a near park, he found Hotsuma already standing there. Shuusei had never moved too far away from their old neighbourhood. He smiled and went over to him. "Hey." He greeted him.

"Shuusei!" Hotsuma was obviously very happy to see him and greeted him again with a warm hug. "How was your meeting?"

"Quite okay. Suzuki-san was surprised about the interview." Shuusei smiled.

"You didn't tell her?"

Shuusei shook his head. "No. I wanted to surprise her that even I can get an interview with someone from the gaming scene."

Hotsuma laughed. "I'd have loved to see her face."

"It was quite a sight." Shuusei smiled.

"I can imaging. Nee Shuusei?"

"Hn?"

"Does the crêpe stand still exist where we used to go as kids? I'd love to have a good old Japanese crêpe with mango and chocolate! I sometimes really miss the good Japanese sweets!"

Shuusei chuckled.

"No our old stand doesn't exist anymore but I know another one which makes delicious crêpes. Let's go there."

"Okay." Hotsuma agreed and took Shuusei's elbow.

A bit surprised about Hotsumas proximity Shuusei looked at him.

"Sorry." Hotsuma let go of his arm again. "It's just… I'm so happy to spend some time with you again. Y'know… I have friends over there and all but… you are still my best friend and I… I'm so glad to be able to see you in person again."

Shuusei smiled and now it was him who took Hotsuma's arm. Should the people think what they wanted. "I'm also happy to see you again" he agreed. Shortly he thought back to Saturday and the short kiss, but he didn't want to think too much of it. He just wanted to be close to his friend.

When they arrived at the crêpe stand he had to let go of Hotsuma's arm again. They both got a different crêpe. While Hotsuma indeed got his mango-chocolate filled one, Shuusei ordered one with strawberries and cherries.

"Is there anything else you want to do? Need a new game? Want to see anything?" Shuusei asked after he stole a bite from Hotsuma's crêpe.

"No. I have everything. And we had a big sightseeing tour yesterday." Hotsuma said and accepted Shuusei's offer of trying from his crêpe as well.

"Then let's go home and watch the new episode?" Shuusei proposed. He didn't have another idea what he could do with Hotsuma.

"That sounds like a great plan!" Hotsuma grinned. "Do you have any snacks?"

Shuusei didn't so they stopped at a supermarket to buy a few things before they returned to the dorms where Shuusei lived.

"How are your parents by the way?" Hotsuma asked when they entered the buildng.

"As always, very stuck up. But when we last phoned they were fine. And yours? Have you heard of them lately?"

Hotsuma shook his head. "Nothing. But I guess that means they're fine. They just drop a note when they want money. I stopped caring."

Shuusei sighed and put a hand on Hotsuma's shoulder. His relationship with his parents had always been difficult and since he started earning money with playing video games they had stopped caring about him. "I'm here for you, you know?" he said.

"I know. And I am here for you." Shuusei smiled and pulled his hand back to get his keys out of his pocket to let them into his small apartment.

"Cozy." Hotsuma stated when he looked at the room for the first time. He usually didn't see too much of it through the webcam. It was one room with tatami mats at the floor so they of course pulled their shoes off. At one wall was a small kitchen and at the window was a desk with Shuusei's laptop and some books for his studies. On the windowsill stood a few plants. One wall was empty but Hotsuma supposed behind it was the wardrobe. A small door indicated that the apartment even had an own bathroom. It wasn't big at all but tidy.

"I guess an apartment for one person alone is not very cheap." He mused and Shuusei nodded.

"Yup. But I can get by." Shuusei smiled and started to boil some water. "Tea?" he asked.

Hotsuma nodded and took a look at Shuusei's laptop. "Wow how old is it? And how does it still work?" he asked.

Shuusei chuckled. "It's good enough for me. Don't forget I don't play games so I don't need a high end PC. As long as it can still run a video stream and a video chat with you at the same time I don't need a new one."

Hotsuma chuckled. "I guess I would curse this thing if I had to work with it for only one day."

"You don't have to. I have to deal with it." Shuusei smiled and looked at his friend mockingly.

"I know. Just wanted to say… As long as you are happy with it."

"I am." Shuusei boxed Hotsuma into the stomach which led to them playfully fighting each other like they used to do often when they were still kids. Only the water kettle separated them and grinning Shuusei gave up in favour of preparing their tea.

"You can already plug the laptop in and put it there into the corner." He said and motioned to the corner next to the writing desk.

While Hotsuma did as he was told Shuusei went to the wardrobe and pulled his futon out to spread it behind his friend so that they could watch their episode comfortably.

"Ah this is the view I usually have when we watch GoT." Hotsuma said when he turned around.

"Exactly," Shuusei said and threw their snacks over to his friend. "Shall we order some real food later?" he asked. "I don't want to spend much time cooking."

"Aw But I wanted to eat something made by you…" Hotsuma pouted. And Shuusei could hear Hotsuma typing something on the keyboard and looked over sceptically. He had locked his laptop with a password but…

"Oh god, you really use THIS as your password?" Hotsuma asked when he managed to unlock the computer at the third try. "You're too obvious, Shuusei!"

"Why? You're the only one who knows that this place is important to me." Shuusei replied. His password was the place he and Hotsuma had spent much time as kids. "And my passwords in the internet are much more secure."

"I hope so. Or I have to give you a lesson in password security."

"I know the basic rules for creating good passwords thank you." Shuusei replied. "So back to the food topic: I have prepared a dessert for you. Can you live with this?" Shuusei said and when two cups of tea were done Shuusei put them and the teapot on a tablet and carried it over to the futon.

"Well... then I guess I can." Hotsuma sighed. "We can order something to eat later. But first I wanna watch this episode!" he sounded almost like an impatient child. Shuusei snipped his fingers against Hotsuma's forehead and sat down next to him so they could find a comfortable position to watch the episode.

In the end they lay next to each other on their stomachs and looked at the monitor of the laptop. The futon was not very broad so their shoulders touched. Shuusei enjoyed being so close to his friend even more when Hotsuma took his hand. He shortly looked at him but soon turned his attention back to the monitor and squeezed the hand he was holding. It was really sad that Hotsuma had to return to America tomorrow. It was so nice to have him back here in person.

They watched the episode and shared their impressions just as they always did and slowly their snacks vanished into their stomachs. Okay Hotsuma ate more than Shuusei but that was okay. Shuusei was no big fan of sweets after all.

When the episode ended Hotsuma let go of Shuusei's hand and stretched. Lying so long on the stomach was not the most comfortable position. "Ahh that was interesting. I wanna know what happens next!" he said.

"You want me to tell you?" Shuusei asked grinning and turned around to stretch as well. He needed to change the position, but he didn't want to get up and give this closeness up.

"Nope. Keep it for yourself. In the end they change it as they so often do and then we're both disappointed."

Shuusei chuckled and turned to his side. "As you wish but the way of storytelling doesn't indicate they change that detail." He shrugged and looked over to Hotsuma and notciced he was watched.

"Am I this interesting?" he asked amusedly.

"Yup." Hotsuma said and smiled.

In the end none of them knew who had started the kiss. One was probably as guilty as the other. Shuusei had closed his eyes and slowly tested how it felt to have Hotsuma's lips moving against his while he returned the kiss. And he couldn't deny he liked it.

"Wow!" he stated when they separated after a while.

He noticed how Hotsuma brushed his fingers through his hair. "Damn. I didn't intent to go this far…" he said. "I didn't even want that on Saturday

Shuusei smiled and took Hotsuma's hand. "It didn't even surprise me… on Saturday I mean. And I liked it."

Hotsuma struggled for words. "But… what now? I have to leave tomorrow. Shuusei… I didn't want you to know what I feel for you…"

"But now I do." Shuusei replied. "I don't like he thought of ignoring what happened and go on like before." That had been possible until ten minutes ago. But now… Hotsuma had just admitted that he had feelings for him and if Shuusei was honest he didn't mind it at all.

"But… I don't know when we can meet again…" Hotsuma looked at Shuusei and seemed a bit despaired.

"We will find a way." Shuusei said and squeezed Hotsuma's hand which he still held. "I will think of something. Perhaps an exchange year would be good if I really want to make use of my journalist's degree…"

"Are… you sure? Shuusei… I don't want to urge you into something you don't want to! I can deal with my feelings!"

Shuusei sighed and moved over so he could put an arm around Hotsuma – for which he had to let go of his hand. "Hotsuma… If I didn't want to be with you in this way, I'd make that clear. I know our friendship is strong enough to survive. But I want to be at your side."

Hotsuma stayed quiet for a few seconds before he put his arms around Shuusei and pulled him close to him. "I love you," He said quietly. "I don't know how long."

Shuusei smiled and moved his hand over Hotsuma's back. They would find a way to spend more time together. He didn't know exactly how, but there would be a way. "I love you, too," he admitted and closed his eyes to feel more of Hotsuma's warmth.


End file.
